NZ is the place to be!

According to this, NZ is the place to be next year, what with the Rugby World Cup and shooting of The Hobbit! Kinda sorta cool! It's going to be a fun year!

Is anyone thinking of coming to Auckland next year?!

p.s.: We used to live really really close to the place where the World Cup is going to be held. Like... five minutes walking distance close. Like... we could hear the crowds roar close!

New Years'

This year, we're having the New Years' get-together at our house. It's a good chance for me to do something crafty!

I was thinking of making this or this, but finally decided on something like this from Confetti System:

It's cute and fun and festive! For $3, at any Look Sharp store, you can get a pretty big sheaf of coloured tissue paper. I've been using them to make my tassels. To make the tassels, I cut out a long strip of tissue paper, folded it in half and then in half again, and made it into a fringe. I opened it up, cut it into smaller individual fringes (each one about six cms long), then rolled it up to make a tassel!

DO IT if you have spare tissue paper and some time before the par-tay!

Ooh, and I might also make Martha's amazing pom poms... they seem to be erupting on the blogosphere :D

No camera = no photos, but I will take some with my SLR. Then I'll get them developed, scanned, and uploaded. Sigh, such a long process; technology, you have made me lazy. :P

And woohoo! Libby and I are going to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1... again! :D

Lemon Curd

On Boxing Day we went to the Matakana Village Farmers Market. I can't wait for a trip to Pak'n'Save to get me some lemons and make my own batch of Lemon Curd! I will be using this recipe. Then I got inspired and experimented with some type to make the image above.

Here's a bunch of photos from our last year's trip to Matakana Market:

This is the stall that we got our Lemon Curd from:

Woo, bring on the chocolates:

My chocolate crepe:

Yes there was a "Can't be bothered" bin:

Aaaand, my waffles:

I bought it!

I finally bought that top. Here's some good tips on how to wear sequins without looking tacky!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're having a lovely holiday, wherever you are!

Edit: Yes, I designed that pic :) :)

Spot the Difference!

Okay, I'll tell you. The first one is a photo taken by me for an assignment. The second one, however, is a painting.

Take a look at more hyper-real paintings from my much older post.

via

Funny talking animals

This is hilarious:

via

An enchanted forest

While coming back from watching the newest Narnia movie, L. and I ventured on to High Street. I spotted a little nook, with steps leading downstairs to a basement. Everything was painted black, and I could see... Christmas trees (no joke).

I walked downstairs, L. hesitating—she told me that she regarded adventures as being only in Narnian worlds, and not in real life—but she followed me nonetheless.

We reached the bottom and there were more Christmas trees, the smell of pine, the sound of birds chirping and water flowing, and twinkling blue lights that led alongside a path. We followed along and came to a clearing. I swear I was waiting for some magical creature to leap out at me (yes, too many fantasy movies have gone to my head).

We were in the Christmas Shop on High Street (thank goodness it wasn't anything dodgy)! I loved the idea of this little refuge from the hustle-and-bustle (yes, yes, compared to some cities, Auckland is quite serene) of the city. If you're in the city, do check it out.

The shop is open till Friday 24th of December, and in the said clearing is a manned desk where there is a lucky dip for gifts. All donated by retailers on High Street. Pretty cool.

The above image is not mine, it's from getfrank.co.nz

p.s.: Narnia, by the way, didn't feel like Narnia without Peter and Susan :(

p.p.s.: I think it's kind of cool that I happen to find an "enchanted" forest the day I go to watch Narnia. It's a sign. ^.^

Feather Decor

This Saturday, we went to the Duck Park. I collected a variety of duck and goose feathers, and was contemplating making a feather headband til' I came across this post on feather decor from Apartment Therapy.

I'm not sure how much I'd like to have feathers floating around in my room (I was scared of feathers when I was little, and I'm still not a huge fan of them), but it's something that would also look good in a lounge or a passage. Hmmm.

Immortelle ♥

You know, sometimes you smell something, and it takes you somewhere else? In another time? In another place? 

's what happened to me when I took a whiff of the lovely Immortelle range by L'Occitane. I was transported to the pine forest of Ooty, where I'd picked up a big bunch of these flowers. They were tiny, plasticky flowers (seriously, they feel fake!) and they stay on like that for a long long time (hence "immortelle"). I loved their perfume then, I love it now! I'm going to scout for these flowers in Auckland now. 

Anyway... the Immortelle range is a little out of budget for me (and can I say unnecessary? It's all about anti-aging!), but I did get a little Verbena Solid Perfume. It's for $25 and it comes in a puny tin case. Verbena is their Lemon/Citrus range, and I love the perfume. 

If you like Citrus-y fragrances, do try it on the next time you're in a L'Occitane. It looks like this. 

Sequined Top

Gold sequined top from Suzanne Grae. Should I get it, should I get it? (taps on chin)

Painted Cookies

Right, well, so I saw these cookies by Maggie Austin while blog-hopping this morning, and I couldn't not post about them. These aren't mere cookies, dear ones! Each of these is a work of art. I love, I love.

Oh, and I be following Miss Coco Rocha from now. I really like her blog.

Psst. Want some more cookie-related posts?

- Cookies that I made

- My cookie inspiration

- Helvetica Cookies

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What are you thankful for? (Hahaha, I sound like a TV commercial!)

Type Scarf

How much do you like your typefaces?

Typeface scarf by TheLittleFactory

Rose Cottage

I know that this is a granny-type cottage, and it's not everyones style... but I love Roses (and Peonies!) and I love this cottage. I'm inspired by just looking at the prettyness. And it greatly reminds me of my Moroccan Rose Body Mist (from The Body Shop). Click here to see the rest of the cottage!

And my room's not that greatly designed or anything, but I've tried to follow a pink-and-white theme. Maybe I'll gather up the courage and post pictures sometime. :)

Here's a good fabric tape tutorial. For prettifying your Christmas presents.

Gold and White

Gold and white is my favourite colour combination at the moment. I love how super clean and peaceful it feels.

Some gold-tinged things I found on DesignMom ...

These gift wrapping ideas (and a DIY):

Pretty gold things.

This beautiful Norwegian home. I love the use of white in this house, but won't it be hard to maintain?

And this dress. I found it while searching for a dress pattern that my friend's going to sew for me! How exciting! :)

Glitterati

Not a big fan of shoes, but these made me smile. :)

Aaand a tutorial. If you're one of those DIY types. :)

Deena and Ozzy

Christian Louboutin Glitter Pumps

A little sunny today.

While searching for a sunflower image for a project, I came across this beautiful painting.

I don't know who it's by, but it's something I'd love to see every day as I start up my computer! {my current desktop wallpaper is this}

Coca Cola Christmas decorations

Wouldn't these be fun at a Christmas party?!

via thedieline

Waiheke Island

Come with me on a trip to Waiheke! (Click on the images to see them bigger!)

This is us leaving Auckland, on a cloudy, rainy day (that building you see? That's the Hilton).

The Auckland skyline.

Did you know... in Auckland, residents aren't permitted to live on house boats (isn't that funny, considering Auckland is 'the city of sails'). However, on Waiheke Island, it's allowed, and there's a little colony of them, too!

Sorry for the misty photo, I took this from a bus (and the windows weren't exactly spotless).

Mmm, a lonely, lovely beach with white sand. As our tour guide told us proudly, Waiheke Island is so... untouched!

Spot the dog!

And... this is not from Waiheke Island, it's from our own garden. Ain't it luverly! Apple and Rose Petal ice cream, yes?

Chocomize

How Chocomize works, is simple. You choose your base chocolate (dark, milk, white), choose your toppings (these vary from gummi bears and sprinkles to—wait for it—beef jerky, salt, and hot curry powder. Totally not kidding.), and order. I created a selection just for fun, and mine was: Dark Chocolate with Orange Peel, Crystallised Rose Petals, Crystallised Violet Petals, Dried Flower Mix, aaaand 23 Karat Gold Flakes. 

I'm almost tempted to order it. My order comes up to NZ$17.10, plus p&h. Pretty cool for Christmas, huh? Sadly, I don't think they ship to NZ. :(

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Mmm, now that we've planted a lemon tree in our backyard, we can make yummo marmalade! Bring on summer!!

Deathly Hallows

Possibly the most awaited movie for me this year (who am I kidding—it was the most awaited movie for me). I watched it this morning.

Aaaaaand?

It was amazing. Really. I loved it. I laughed, I teared up (Dobbyyyy!), I laughed some more, I was frightened ... wow. The other thing that (pleasantly) surprised me was how true to the book it was. Yes, it's because they got time to spread it over two movies, but still. That was nice. I wish they'd stayed more true to the book with movies 4, 5, and 6 as well.

Have you seen it? What's the verdict? :D

(Now the wait is for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which, I think, releases 9 Dec)

Edit: Click on the image to see it better or to save it as a desktop wallpaper. It's been my desktop wallpaper for months now!

Image © Warner Bros and Harry Potter, of course!

PostCarden!

Wow! Look at this ingenious Christmas card!

Via PostCarden

p.s.: Aaaaaaa! Deathly Hallows on Thursday!! I am beyond excited. All the sneak peeks are so true to the book!

Anke Weckmann

Whimsical and playful illustrations by Anke Weckmann.

The 30-cats poster is blu-tacked on my wall right now.

Happy Summer!

Ahh, the summer hols. Four months of nothing-to-do's. and pursuing hobbies, finding work, visiting beaches, meeting up with old friends, (starting a diet plan) ...

I spent today happily making these paper flowers and sipping on Pink Guava juice. I love how happy and summery the photo looks!

I also painted a little Robin. And a pink Peony. They're both work-in-progress, however, so I'll post them up here when they're done! :)

Btw, if anyone is wondering, I made those flowers following this Pom-Pom tutorial by Martha. I couldn't believe how super-easy it was. I am going to stick them on a branch (the yellow ones for Gran's kitchen, and pink ones for my room) for decoration.

(I've scheduled this post for 11:11pm. Today's 11/11 ... haha)

Edit: Grrr, my "post options" has a mind of its own. It won't reschedule this post.

Ron van der Ende

... because paintings are forever.

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